Reading a Buyback Announcement

Headlines often trumpet a “$50 billion buyback,” but the number alone says little. Here is how to size an announcement, check whether the company follows through and find the real figures in its filings.

Authorization is not purchase

A buyback announcement is usually an authorization: permission to spend up to a certain amount, often with no deadline. Companies are not required to use all of it, and some never do. The real story is in what they actually buy, reported each quarter in their SEC filings.

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